Identifying and segregating yarn in different parts of yarn packages



Unite Montford Boylan Carr, New York, N. Y.,

American Enka Corporation, Enka, tion of Delaware No Drawing.Application May 25, 1954, Serial No. 432,300

8 Claims. (Cl. 28--75) assignor to N. (3., a corpora- The presentinvention relates to the manufacture of rayon, and more particularly itrelates to a special treatment of rayon cakes after they have beennormally processed and dried or cones made therefrom.

In the production of rayon according to modern practices, the yarn isspun and collected in package form such as cakes collected in rapidlyrotating pots or buckets. These cakes are then subjected to thenecessary aftertreatments involving washing, desulphurizing, bleachingand drying.

Due to several factors peculiar to the process, differences inphysio-chemical properties result in the product. One of the mostserious consequences is the dyeing differences or dye receptivity thatoccur in fabrics made from the cakes. Apparently, there is a variationin yarn properties throughout the cake which results in a dye ratedifference that is most noticeable at the insides and outsides of thecakes, and this is particularly objectionable in subsequent textileprocessing, for example, when the yarn is woven into cloth. Streakinessand different shades are evident in the cloth, which naturally lowersits quality and therefore sales appeal.

Whereas, it is not certain what all of the underlying contributingcauses are, it is believed that unequal tensions and strains are set upin the cakes when they are spun, then when the yarn is dried accordingthe some of the methods, the interior portions can shrink to a greaterextent than the :outer portions. Various methods have been proposed forovercoming these differences, one of which is to treat the insides ofthe cakes for a short period with warm moist air or low temperaturesteam. Another method is to progressively increase the stretchthroughout the spinning period of the cake so as to compensate for theeifect of greater shrinkage inwardly.

While such measures have proved helpful, they are not entirelysatisfactory as some differences in dyeing characteristics are stillevident between the Various portions of the cakes, and streakiness inthe fabrics are more or less pronounced. This is particularly noticeablewhen the yarn cakes are used for filling in a woven fabric. When thusused, yarn originating from the inside, or near the inside, of one cakemay be woven adjacent yarn from the outside portion of another cake, andthe dilference in dye rate will be"'more pronounced.

It has been recognized, however, that in cakes of the same size aboutthe same portion of each cake dyes substantially the same shade, i. e.the inner portions of the cakes dye about the same, the central portionsof the cakes dye about the same, and the outer portions of the cakes dyeabout the same.

Therefore, it is most desirable in re-winding the yarn from the cakesonto cones, filling bobbins, etc., to Wind those portions having thesame dye receptivity onto common collecting devices so that they can besegregated and used in the same cloth. Additionally, when a large numberof cakes are disposed on a creel and the yarns wound in parallel onto asection beam, it is desirable that States Patent ice the cakes beunwound uniformly and concurrently in order to have the same portions ofthe cakes in the same position on the beam; and to visually indicatethat they are in the same position.

It is therefore an object of this invention to treat cakes or thepackages formed from the cakes with a fugitive dye or tint in such amanner that the various portions of the cake can be readily identifiedand segregated.

It is a further object of the invention to use diiferently coloredfugitive dyes for the different portions so that they can be visuallydesignated.

According to the invention, after the cakes have been processed andpreferably dried, they are given a special treatment with a fugitivedye, whereby the outsides of the cakes are tinted one color and theinsides are tinted another color. The central portions of the cakes areuntreated, and therefore remain in their natural shade, which is whiteif the cakes have been bleached. This tinting operation can beaccomplished in several ways, e. g., a fugitive dye can be caused topenetrate a certain radial distance on the outsides of the cakes, and afugitive dye of a different color can be caused to penetrate a certainradial distance on the insides of the cakes.

It is known that different dyes penetrate different distances, and it isimportant to make the proper selection of a dye that will penetrate therequired depth. Any of the well known Water soluble dyes or oil solubledyes may be used, although oil soluble dyes are usually preferredbecause of their more efficient penetration. Another way of marking thecakes or cones wound therefrom is to empirically determine the amount ofyarn to be designated with one color, and the amount of yarn to bedesignated another color, and then determine the radial distance theseamounts take up and so mark these portions that radial distance at thetops and/or bottoms of the cakes or cones.

When the cakes thus marked are wound onto pirns, the pirns formed fromthe outsides of the cakes will be identified by one color, and the pirnsformed from the insides identified by another color, and the pirnsformed from the central portions of the cakes will remain in theirnatural color. This enables a textile processor to segregate the pirnsaccording to their yarn location on the cake and use the pirns havingthe same color on the same group of looms. It is obvious that in thismanner the fabrics made therefrom will show an improved uniformity indye rate; and although cloth woven from looms using yarns from pirns ofone color will dye a different shade from cloth woven from looms usingpirns of another color, the cloth itself in each loom will dyesubstantially uniformly. It is, of course, to be understood that thefugitive dyes are washed out before or during the time that thepermanent dyeing is elfected.

When cakes are marked in the above fashion and a number aresimultaneously re-wound from a creel onto a section beam, the outerportions carrying one color will be at the interior of the beam and thecentral portion in a natural shade will be in the central portion of thebeam, and the insides of the cakes carrying another color will be on theoutside of the section beam. The processor, when using these beams as awarp in the fabric can readily see when one color runs out and anotherstarts so that he can either change his formula for the ultimate dyebath, or he can use the succeeding portion on another loom.

It is obvious that various modifications can be made in the processwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it isto be understood that the invention is only limited to the extent of thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a cake of rayon tinted at theouter portion with a fugitive dye of one color and tinted at the innerportion with a fugitive dye of another color.

2. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof a yarn package, which comprises tinting portions of the package withfugitive dyes and winding those portions having the same color onto acollecting device.

3. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof a yarn package which comprises tinting difierent portions of thepackage with diiferent colored fugitive dyes and winding those portionshaving the same color onto a collecting device.

4. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof a yarn package which comprises tinting different portions of thepackage with different colored oil soluble fugitive dyes and windingthose portions having the same color onto a collecting device.

5. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof rayon cakes which comprises applying a fugitive dye of one color tothe outer portions of the cakes and a fugitive dye of another color tothe inner portions of the cakes, winding the outer portions having thesame color onto a collecting device and winding the inner portionshaving the same color onto another collecting device.

6. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof rayon cakes which comprises applying a fugitive dye of one color tothe outer portions of the cakes and a fugitive dye of another color tothe inner portions of the cakes, creeling a number of such cakes onto asection beam whereby the same colored portions will be in the sameposition on the beam.

7. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof rayon cakes which comprises applying a fugitive dye of one color tothe outer portions of the cakes and a fugitive dye of another color tothe inner 5 portions of the cakes, winding the outer portions having thesame color onto one group of pirns, winding the inner portionsontoanother group of pirns and winding the central portions onto a thirdgroup of pirns, segregating the respective groups and processing eachgroup on separate looms.

' 8. A process for identifying and segregating yarn from different partsof a yarn package, which comprises winding a cake of rayon onto a coneand marking predetermined radial sections at one end of the cone withfugitive dyes of different colors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Jour.Soc. Dyers & Col. for December 1947, pp. 430- 438.

Amer. Dyestuff Reporter for Aug. 9, 1948, p. P-525.

Rayon and Syn. Tex. for September 1949, pp. 95 and 96.

